UPDATE IN ORGANON OF MEDICINE

ROLE OF EVOLUTIONARY PAST IN HOMOEOPATHIC

PRESCRIBING OF ONE-SIDED DISEASES
Dr. Anju Jethani M.D. (HOM.)
Senior Medical Officer (Homoeopathy), Medical Center, High Court of Delhi,
Dte. of ISM & Homoeopathy, Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Organon of Medicine, NHMC & Hospital,
Govt. of NCT of Delhi.
E-MAIL: dranjujethani@gmail.com

ABSTRACT: In todays era when there is increased plethora of

cases presenting with one-sided image of disease on account of
advanced pathology, there is an imperative need to outline an
avenue of prescribing that can guide selection of appropriate
homoeopathic medicine. One such avenue is an indepth analysis
of evolutionary past of such patients which can often provide the
key to unlock such difficult cases. This paper intends to outline
the foresaid avenue of prescribing and intends to highlight the
clinical methods of various stalwarts on these very lines.
INTRODUCTION:
Hahnemann spoke of one-sided diseases as the diseases that
are characterized by the paucity of symptoms and manifest
themselves through one or two principal symptoms only.
In 173; Hahnemann stated this fact as :
The only diseases that seem to have but few symptoms, and on
that account to be less amenable to cure, are those which may
be termed one-sided, because they display only one or two
principal symptoms which obscure almost all the others. They
belong chiefly to the class of chronic diseases. 38
In essence, the diseases attain one-sidedness when the majority
of their symptoms are foreshadowed to the background; leaving a

few symptoms on the surface to express the disease state. In

other words, the wholistic expression of the disease is masked
and the disease manifests itself through a very small number of
symptoms i.e. its one side is all that remains to represent the
disease.
The diseases become one-sided on account of one of the following
two factors:

NATURE OF THE DISEASE: As discussed by Hahnemann in

174; there are certain illnesses, which by their very nature
present with but few symptoms and hence constitute onesided disease.
STATE OF ADVANCED PATHOLOGY:

The other principal factor that makes the disease one-sided is the
progression of disease to advanced pathological state. It is well
known that as the disease process progresses, the symptoms
(especially the characteristic ones) gradually vanish till the state
is reached when disease has only one side of the whole picture (in
the form of one or two symptoms) to symbolize itself. In this stage
of the disease, only the gross pathological features represent the
disease.
In either of these cases, for the obvious reason, an wholistic
prescribing is not at all possible in one-sided diseases on the basis
of presenting totality. Then what do we do? It is here that the
dynamic concept of life serves as a beacon light guiding us
through this philosophical dilemma.
In the evolutionary model of life (Dynamic view of life); the
constant oscillation of phenomena occurring at different stages of
life are, in fact, varied manifestations of the same underlying
principle (the vital principle). We need to appreciate the fact that
the two phases of life the past and the present are two sides
of the same coin on account of their common origin through the
one and the same vital principle. Hence, due to this very reason,

one phase can represent and illuminate the other when the other
phase is dim and not well represented.
So in case the present condition of the patient is devoid of
prescribing avenue; the symptoms that the patient experienced in
the past; originating from and being affection of the same vital
principle, need to be taken into consideration as appropriate
philosophical substitute of the present and should form the
basis of sound prescription. Keeping in mind the gloomy picture of
presenting totality in such patients, we need to retrace the
progression of the disease and unearth the area of prescribing in
the past much before the disease degenerated into the present
stage. It is only during this stage of the past that we can hope to
grasp upon characteristic symptoms since the disease was at its
budding stage and had therefore not made great inroads in the
state of its vital expression.
Dunhams famous case of deafness cured by Mezereum,
wherein the prescription had been based on the original skin
symptoms, which had been suppressed and had given rise to the
deafness, is a case in point.
As recorded in Dunhams book, The Science of Therapeutics,
this case is such a wonderful exposition of the philosophical
importance of anamnesis in the light of the dynamic concept of
life that I would like to quote this case verbatim in Dunhams own
words:
G.W.W., aged seventeen years, small, but well proportioned and
of good constitution, healthy since his ninth year, has been deaf
since he was four years old. When three years of age, he had an
eruptive disease of the whole scalp, which, after resisting for a
year all the milder methods of allopathic treatment, was finally
caused to disappear, in the following manner: A tar-cap was
placed upon the head, and when firmly adherent to the scabs,
was violently torn off. The scabs came with it, leaving the whole
scalp raw. This raw surface was moistened with a saturated
solution of nitrate of silver. The eruption did not reappear; but
from that time the child was deaf. "The condition of the youth

now excites the earnest solicitude of his friends. His inability to

move in society, or to get a situation in business, on account of
his deafness, has produced a morbid state of mind. He broods
over his infirmity, and secludes himself even from his own family."
Under these circumstances, he applied to me to be cured of his
deafness On Feb. 3, 1857, patient received a powder
containing three globules of Mezereum 30, to be taken on
retiring (the prescription having been based on the features of the
suppressed skin lesions). Feb. 24. Thinks he hears better every
sound seems much louder than before. Hears my watch at a
distance of four and a half inches from the right ear, and four and
a quarter from the left ear. Saccharum lactis. March 1. Has not
improved during the last week. Mezereum 30, three globules.
March 27: Hears my watch, with the right ear, six and a half
inches, and with the left ear, seven inches. Saccharum lactis.
April 20. Hears my watch, with the right ear, at a distance of ten
inches, and with the left, at a distance of fourteen inches. Hears
ordinary conversation easily, with attention. Saccharum lactis.
Sept. 28. Has been steadily improving until three weeks ago,
when he became more deaf again, without apparent cause.
Mezereum 30, three globules, on retiring. Jan. 26, 1858. Hears
my watch at a distance of fourteen inches from the right ear, and
twenty-four inches from the left ear. Deafness returns when he
takes cold, but disappears with the cold. Mezereum 30, three
globules, on retiring.
March 19. To his surprise, on going to
church, although seated at the extreme end of a very large
building, he distinctly heard the whole sermon for the first time in
his life. 75
Hence, it is quite evident that in cases pervaded by darkness due
to lack of illumination of characteristic symptomatology in the
presenting totality, we need to undertake a journey into the past
life of the patient when the enlightening avenue of prescribing
was available as our prescribing tool in the present condition.
Another brilliant example is a case of partial impotence and
infertility treated by Adolph von Lippe. Wesselhoeft had
treated the patient for more than eighteen months with little
improvement. In this case too, there were no characteristic

presenting symptoms for the purpose of prescribing. Lippe then

saw the patient and gave him Lac. caninum because ten years
earlier he had suffered from an attack of Diphtheria and the
character of the attack had been that it had gone one side to
other and back again. The patient was completely cured of the
impotence and infertility.
Wesselhoeft writes As far as we know, Lac. caninum has no
sexual weakness. The fact disturbed Lippe very little in his
selection. He looked deeper and found the cause and the remedy.
This is true homoeopathic pathology. 48
Therefore, as a matter of course, in our investigations for the
purpose of perceiving patient as a whole, the previous history
of the patient before he became ill and the manner in
which the illness evolved must receive our earnest attention.
In this regard; Dr. J.N. Kanjilal has narrated an amazing case in
which he relieved an advanced case of Osteo-arthritis with
crippling deformities in a man aged 40 years, after being
thoroughly disappointed with prescriptions based on presenting
totality of symptoms, simply by a dose of Drosera 200 prescribed
on the symptom of whooping cough he had at the age of about 5
or 6 years; the symptoms of the latter were obtained from the
memory of the mother. 45
This strengthens our belief that anamnesis is a logical tool of
illuminating the past that can be so vital in our understanding of
the present. The following case, as reported by Stuart Close, is a
further strong reminder of this notion.
The patient was a girl eighteen years of age, in the late stages of
incurable heart disease. She had been under allopathic treatment
for over a year, steadily growing worse. When first seen by the
writer she was confined to a chair, unable to lie down or remain in
bed. General edema, ascites and hydrothorax existed. Urine was
almost entirely suppressed, only about four ounces being passed
in twenty-fours hours. Tachycardia and dyspnoea were most
distressing and death seemed imminent. The history and

anamnesis of her case revealed unmistakable Calcarea

symptoms. She was given a single dose of Calcarea carb., C.M.,
Fincke. The reaction and response to the remedy was surprising.
Within forty-eight hours urine began to be secreted copiously. For
several days she passed from one hundred and twenty to one
hundred and fifty ounces per day. Dropsy rapidly disappeared and
she was soon able to lie down and sleep comfortably. In about
four weeks she was able to go out for a ride in a carriage, and not
long after was out walking. She lived thirteen months in
comparative comfort and happiness and then died quite suddenly
of heart failure, after a slight over exertion. 44
Thus, in difficult cases such as one-sided diseases, where the
scope of proper homoeopathic prescribing is dim in relation to the
existing totality; it is the past that brightens the image of the
disease and we need to completely rely on it for our purpose of
treatment. Dr.R.P.Patel describes this fact in the following words:
A difficulty may arise in those obscure cases the symptoms of
which have been masked by drugging, homoeopathic and
otherwise, operations, etc. or due to far reaching progression of
disease so that these cases only present a few common
symptoms which can only guide us to a group of remedies..
Many times in these cases before we can make any progress we
must go back through the life of the patient to childhood
and note all symptoms, which preceded the pathological change
that now obscures the image of your case. 6
In my endeavor to further highlight this point of view, I would like
to quote the following two cases of Dr. W.S. Gee as stated in his
article Constitutional Medicine.
Case 1: Mr. B., aged 25, complained of a severe pain in his
knee. No distinguishing features being present an appeal was
made to the anamnesis or previous history. He had suffered
one whole year from rheumatism some years before and was
unable to leave the house. The features of the attack pointed to
Rhus tox. and that remedy in the 1M potency, cured his knee. 76

Case 2: Marion H., a little girl of five years, was taken seriously
ill with remittent fever. The temperature ranged from 103 to 104
deg.F and above for several days. The best-selected remedies did
not seem to act on account of paucity of marked symptoms. The
history was more carefully examined. When a baby, she
perspired very much about her head and was troubled with cold
damp feet. Stomach and bowels were easily disturbed. She was
slow getting her teeth and in learning to walk. With this help
Calcarea ost. 1M was selected and a great change was soon
apparent and recovery was rapid. 76
Therefore, here again we see that in order to prescribe for onesided disease, a thorough anamnesis is essential to unfold the
symptoms of the past when the clearer view of the diseased state
can be obtained.
To sum it up, we may conclude, in context of one-sided diseases,
that the past is not a dead past but lives on to illuminate the
present.